Mercer's Progeny
by Mr Skull
Summary: My entry for Dirty Reid's latest Challenge. There's a reason Hayate is always sick... NarutoxPrototype crossover, pairing not decided, rated M for violence, gore, and possible adult... situations.
1. Awakening

The first chapter to Mercer's Progeny! Not designed to be a serious chapter, but more of a prologue.

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**Chapter 1: Awakening**

This is it.

Those were the three words running through Gekko Hayate's mind at the current time.

Moments earlier, he had been spying on Baki of Sunagakure, as he held a secret meeting with that strange Kabuto boy. Hayate had always had his suspicions about Kabuto, and now they were assured. Kabuto was a spy. An attack on Konoha was being planned by Suna and Oto.

Hayate had no time to lose.

He had to rush back to the Hokage to report this immediately.

However, as fortune would have it, while he was leaping and somersaulting across the rooftops, he sensed some form of weapon striking downward toward him, barely giving him enough time to draw his katana and deflect it. As he turned toward his assailant, sword at the ready, he gasped as he laid eyes on the attacker.

"Baki….." Hayate muttered.

"You shouldn't have heard all that Hayate. Didn't your mother ever tell you that eavesdropping is rude?" Baki spoke, with a slight glare. Hayate's eyes narrowed.

"You won't –cough- get away with this Baki!" He growled, grasping his sword tighter.

Baki merely chuckled. "Oh, and you think you can stop me? I'll kill you right here before you can tell your beloved old man!" as he charged Hayate, lifting his sword over his head and swinging it down in a hard downward strike. Hayate barely lifted his sword in time to block the strike, as the sound of metal striking metal rang through the cool night air. Hayate forced some chakra to his arms as he pushed Baki back, following up with a sideways strike, which Baki nimbly dodged with a backflip. Hayate continued to slash with deadly precision at Baki, knowing if he didn't keep up the assault, he could never win. Baki continued to dodge Hayate's strikes, sweating slightly at how precise he was. He would have to end this quickly, or he would be drawing too much attention to the fight. Hayate jumped backward after several more slashes and went through a group of hand seals. "Katon: Gōkakyū no jutsu!" Hayate bellowed as he blew out a great blast of flame. The flames seared the air as they flew toward Baki, but Baki was too fast.

"Futon: Renkudan!" He shouted after running through a list of hand seals, blasting a large bullet of wind from his mouth, as it penetrated through the flames and smashed into Hayate, knocking him from his feet. Hayate tried to maneuver in the air to regain his composure, but was cut short as Baki brought his blade down and plunged it remorselessly through Hayate's stomach, causing Hayate to cough up a small puddle of blood. Baki tore his blade out just as fast as he'd stabbed with it, as Hayate fell to the ground.

"You lose, Hayate." Baki sneered as he stood over Hayate, blood trailed halfway down his katana, and dripping onto the rooftop.

Hayate coughed violently, spitting up more blood as he looked up at Baki, anger in his eyes.

"You…. Won't get…. –cough cough- away with this…. Baki….." Hayate sputtered weakly, but with a sense of anger in his voice, only making Baki laugh as he raised his sword over Hayate's dying form, preparing to deliver the killing strike.

"This is it." Hayate thought to himself, as Baki brought his blade down fast and hard, piercing Hayate's heart, causing his eyes to widen, and suddenly go dilate and lifeless.

Baki lifted his sword out of Hayate's lifeless form, flicked the blood off of it, and re-sheathed it, before shadow teleporting away.

Hayate's body lay there, lifeless, no color left in his face, no rise and fall of his chest breathing, with blood beginning to run down the rooftop.

That is, until he drew in a sharp breath.

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Well, that's the first chapter done! Will post more if I get good reviews, or as the ideas come to me! Praise is accepted, Flame is accepted with justified reason. TY for reading!


	2. The Cure

Here is Chapter 2! Sorry about chapter 1 being so short, but it was sort of meant to be a precursor. Now here is a little background as to how Hayate came to obtain the virus! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 2: The Cure**

**1 month earlier…….**

"-cough cough hack-"

Hayate fell to his knees as a coughing fit came over him on the way to the hospital. He continued to cough and hack up a disgusting mixture of bile and blood, indicating his condition was worsening. His girlfriend, Uzuki Yugao was down beside him in an instant, her right arm around him in comfort and worry.

"Hayate! Are you all right?" She said with great worry in her tone

Hayate gripped at his chest in pain, clenching his teeth as some traces of blood seeped through. "I'll be –cough- ok….. I just hope this newfound –cough- treatment will work….." Hayate croaked.

Yugao looked rather pensive. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Hayate-kun? This treatment is still very experimental! The scientists of GenTek only produced it a few weeks ago!" She begged, almost desperate to stop Hayate from doing anything too rash.

True to her words, Gentek was a company based in Fire Country, made up of various scientists from different countries working for a common cause. Every year they would come up with a cure, vaccine, or new line of medicine for illness, as well as several high-tech medical devices for use in hospitals and the like. They were very well known throughout the Ninja countries for developing new ways to heal shinobi of many things, such as disease, certain types of cancer and even terminal illness. Hayate's case had been reported to them by the hospital of Konoha, and they had taken extraordinary interest in his condition. They seemed to lock themselves away for about 2 months working on something big.

Then it came. The so called cure for Hayate's condition. It was delivered to the Konoha hospital, where Hayate was headed now to receive it. He was informed that it was a type of parasite that would eradicate all traces of the illness by dismantling sick cells, and rebuilding them as clean, healthy ones. After the job was finished, the parasite would die, and Hayate would be healthy again.

He had no idea what he was in store for.

Hayate forced himself to his feet, with the help of his beloved Yugao.

"Let's -cough- go." Hayate said, resuming his walk toward the hospital, Yugao beside him.

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**A short while later**

Hayate lay on the hospital bed, clad in a plain pair of plain white hospital issue boxer shorts, with a blue shower cap holding his dark gray hair in place.

Several doctors were standing around him. One of them was speaking to him.

"…And that is how the procedure will play out. Do you have any questions for us?" The doctor asked.

"Will I be awake for the –cough- procedure?" Hayate said weakly, feeling his condition slowly weakening him. "For the first part, yes. But the parasite contains a sedative. You will fall asleep soon after being injected with it. And you will remain that way for at least 4 to 5 hours while the parasite works." The doctor replied professionally.

Hayate asked his next question. "Will this completely eradicate the condition? –cough cough-"

The Doctor adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath behind the mask.

"You will still cough for a few months as the cells slowly work into your system properly, but after a certain time, your body will be rid of your condition." The doctor said, almost with a hint of darkness in his tone, which Hayate picked up on.

"Doctor…. Is there something you're not telling me?" Hayate questioned, a mix of worry and mild anger in his tone.

"I will explain the other details in due time, Mr Gekko. You have nothing to worry about." The doctor assured Hayate.

Hayate could tell the doctor was keeping something from him, but at that moment, Hayate was silenced from any further questions by another violent coughing fit. A doctor rushed to his side with a small medical bucket, as Hayate coughed another mix of blood and bile into it. His body was losing out fast.

"Please….. do it….." Hayate said weakly between deep breaths.

The Doctor nodded. "Bring it in."

The double doors to the containment room opened, and a female doctor wheeling some sort of cryo-containment chest entered the room. The chest was brought to Hayate's bedside, and he began to eye it curiously, breathing the smallest sigh of relief when it opened with a hiss of cold fog, and a tube the size of a small rolling pin was brought out.

The tube was filled with a strange dark, almost black liquid. Hayate failed to notice the sticker with "BLACKLIGHT" printed on it plastered onto the side of the tube as it was placed gently into a serum gun. **(A.N. You know, those things like the use in the movies when they inject viruses, sort of like in Resident Evil, or in Silent Hill: Homecoming, the things that the Serum is loaded into. I'll leave it to you to figure it out.)**

Hayate was sweating slightly now. "S-So that's the cure?" he asked nervously.

The Doctor turned to face him, looking almost darkly, but Hayate couldn't tell beneath the doctor's surgical mask. "Yes Hayate. Due to the…. Lack of potency of the v- Cure, Gentek had to produce a larger amount for it to work on an adult. Don't worry, you're in good hands." He reassured Hayate, mentally cursing himself for what he was about to say. Hayate didn't look any more at ease than when he first saw the tube.

"Alright then…. –cough-" Hayate said as he lay back down on the bed. "Do it."

The Doctor walked over, as another doctor swabbed the area of Hayate's chest where the injector was to pierce. Hayate looked pensive again. "I-It's going into my chest? Don't injections normally go –cough cough- into the arm?" He said with mild worry in his tone.

The Doctor's expression didn't falter, not that Hayate could tell.

"In order for the cure to spread effectively, it must be injected into your carotid artery, to allow the heart to distribute the parasites effectively." The Doctor said in a professional medical tone.

"Parasites?! You mean there are more than one?!" Hayate was looking more uneasy now.

"Of course there is more than one, one parasite would not be enough to cover your entire body in time without dying first. You have nothing to worry about Mr Gekko." The Doctor reassured him for the second time that day.

Hayate forced himself to calm down again. "A-alright then. –cough- Let's get this over with." He said with mild confidence.

The Doctor brought the injector up and pointed it at the sweet spot on Hayate's chest. "This will hurt, but try to bear the pain, it won't last long." The Doctor muttered to Hayate.

He brought the needle down fast, piercing the skin and going directly into Hayate's carotid artery. Hayate elicited a sharp cry of pain, as the black liquid from the injector slowly drained into his system.

Hayate felt like his chest was on fire. It was burning. Almost too much to bear.

"There, it's done." The Doctor spoke, removing the needle slowly, and placing a small piece of gauze over the small needle hole to catch any escaping blood. He then grabbed a small white piece of sticky bandage material and placed it over the gauze.

Hayate looked relieved that the pain was over. It was short, but extremely ravaging. Why, he did not know.

"_That hurt a little more than it should have. It doesn't take a doctor to figure that out."_ Hayate thought to himself.

He passed it off, but suddenly began to feel drowsy.

The Doctor spoke. "The cure is starting to take effect. You'll fall asleep soon, so the parasites can begin to work."

Hayate nodded, as he slowly drifted into sub consciousness….

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**4 ½ hours later….**

Hayate's eyes slowly cracked open, as the bright fluro lights of the hospital drilled into his eyes, causing his pupils to narrow slightly, but gradually widen as he grew used to the light.

"Hayate-kun!" came a familiar voice from beside him. Hayate turned weakly to the left, and was greeted with the beautiful face of Yugao.

"Y-Yugao-chan…." Hayate muttered weakly, still groggy from his ordeal. "It's good to see your face….."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, which he gladly returned. "How are you feeling?" Yugao asked, still worried about him.

Hayate paused for a moment before he answered. "I…. I feel great! My chest doesn't hurt at all anymore! The cure…. It worked!" No sooner that he had said those words, he coughed, but not violently like the few days past, only a mild cough.

"You're still coughing!" Yugao cried in disbelief. "The cure didn't work!"

Hayate shook his head gently. "It's fine. The doctor said that I would still be coughing for a couple of months, but only until the side effects of my condition are dealt with." He reassured his lover.

"I see….. Well, it's great! Your condition has finally been cleared up! Is there anything those genius minds at Gentek can't do?" She said with a smile.

"Indeed…." Said Hayate, his mind drifting elsewhere.

"Is something the matter, Hayate-kun?" Yugao asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

Hayate turned to look at her, and smiled gently.

"N-no… it's nothing" He said to her reassuringly. "Come on, let's go home."

A short while later, after checking out of the hospital, Hayate was walking Yugao home.

He was grand. He hadn't felt this good since… well, ever!

They reached Yugao's home, and turned to each other at the door.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright Hayate-kun? Maybe I should stay with you tonight in case you need something…." Yugao asked, her worry for Hayate overriding any and all emotion inside her. Hayate simply smiled.

"I'm fine, Yugao-chan! –cough-" Hayate sweatdropped, that cough didn't come at the right time. "Even though I'm still mildly coughing, I'll be alright. I just need some more rest while the cure does its stuff."

Yugao looked disdainful. "Are you sure?"

Hayate smiled again. "Positive."

Yugao wrapped him up in a deep lovers kiss before pulling away, smiling at him and walking into her house, closing the door. Hayate smiled as he headed back to his apartment. Nothing could get him down now.

At least, that's what he thought.

Hayate had an overwhelming pain in his chest all of a sudden, forcing him to fall to his knees, gripping a nearby bench to support himself. He held a hand over his chest. "That was strange…." He muttered to himself. "Must be my condition trying to resist the parasites…" He reassured himself, as he got to his feet and continued his walk home.

No sooner than he opened his door and walked into his apartment, did he fall to his knees, again with the pain. Hayate started to sweat with worry, as he thought out loud:

"What the hell have they injected me with?"

Hayate would soon find out that some questions are never meant to be answered.

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Chapter 2 done! Sorry bout the lack of action, but it was meant to be purely storyline in this one. The plotline for this chapter came to me in an instant, so I typed as I thought it. Hope you all like it! R&R!


	3. The Changes Appear

**Hey guys! Sorry this took a while to upload, I was trying to get some material for an action chapter, but ended up with drama. It's alright though, it adds to the storyline! I promise there is some action coming, along with Hayate's first consume victim! Dirty Reid, when you read this, I know I said there would be action here, but I wanted to make the storyline a little more dramatic, keep the readers coming back for more. As a fellow writer, I know you'll understand. :)**

**Anyway, I got many Story Alert messages about this, and some reviews, and that's inspired the third chapter! Enjoy chapter 3 of Mercer's Progeny!  
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**Chapter 3: The Changes Appear**

Hayate sat upright so quickly he was almost a blur.

He took in a large breath of disbelief, looking at himself thoroughly. The wound was there, but it was rapidly closing. There was a large blood puddle around his legs and trailing down the roof from where his back was just touching. He could taste blood around his mouth, indicating severe internal bleeding.

He should be dead. Yet he was alive. In a sense, he would soon find out.

"_How is this possible?"_ He thought to himself. _"This wound pierced my liver…. I should have bled to death, if the severe shock from the pain didn't kill me already. Yet I'm alive…."_ His thoughts were interrupted when the rush of info came back and hit him incredibly fast.

"Oh CRAP! That's right! The invasion! I need to tell Hokage-sama right away!!" He sprang to his feet, and in a blur, he was gone, running from the rooftop. He took a flying leap onto the adjacent one….

…..only to leave a large dent in it when he landed.

"What the hell?!" He said out loud when he saw the dent. _"It's like I'm made of iron! What in the nine levels of Hell is happening to me?!"_ He mentally demanded. But he didn't have time to think now. He had a job to do, and he was going to see it through.

Hayate resumed his mad roof dash, surprised that he was suddenly moving so fast. Soon, he came to a large building, and he leapt toward it while attempting to transfer chakra to his feet, only to find that he couldn't. He started to panic slightly as he hurtled toward the wall, but was shocked to kingdom come when he somehow attached to the wall, grabbing it like a spider, without any chakra whatsoever.

"This is starting to creep me out….." Hayate said to himself.

His eyes nearly left his skull when he noticed that his hands were generating some kind of….. fleshy substance. It was a mix of dark red and black, and seemed to be circling his hands and feet. The substance didn't seem to harm him in any way, but it was somehow keeping him bound to the wall. He tried to pull his hand away from the wall, and was able to do so as if it wasn't being held at all.

He watched as the substance disappeared, leaving his gloved hand looking normal. He pushed it against the wall again, and the substance returned, grasping the wall once more. He quickly devised a way to test the ability of this…. Stuff that was coming out of his hands and feet. He leaned back, removing his hands, and hoping to the heavens he wouldn't fall.

Yet no fall came. The substance was keeping him against the wall. He took one foot away and stepped "up" the wall, and the substance re-anchored him there. In amazement, he took a few more steps up the wall, and the substance kept on moving him up in a more powerful way than chakra did. He started to walk faster, before he broke into a wallrun, and the substance led him the whole way. He reached the top, gripped the ledge on the roof, flung himself upward and sailed through the air, flipping and landing on his feet, making another moderate dent.

Hayate was almost smiling at this point. "This is incredible! Whatever this stuff is, it doesn't seem to be harming me, but only benefiting me." He thought, wanting to test more of what this stuff could do.

But he was quickly reminded of what he had to do.

Using his newfound speed, energy, and ability to run up walls without the apparent use of chakra, he sped toward the Hokage Tower with speed not seen by some ninja without the aid of chakra.

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Sarutobi was rather irritated. Why did the Chuunin exams have to involve so much freaking paperwork?!

He was so caught up in his mental fuming and running through forms that he almost jumped out of his skin when a freaked-out Hayate almost kicked his door down and rushed in, stopping in front of the desk to bow swiftly.

"Hokage-sama! Forgive my sudden intrusion, but I have extremely urgent news!" He spoke almost faster than Sarutobi could hear. The Hokage was looking at him with a mix of shock, worry, and a hint of anger for scaring him.

"H-Hayate?! What happened to you?! You're covered in blood!" The Hokage said with a tone full of worry.

"I'll explain that later! Please, you need to hear this Hokage-sama!!!" Hayate shouted in a panicked voice.

Sarutobi regained his composure enough to calm himself, and listen, though he was still worried about Hayate's current bloodied state, especially with that small stab wound visible through the hole in his Jounin vest. "A-Alright…. What is it Hayate?" He asked as calmly as his nerves would allow him.

"I have solid evidence that Suna and Oto are planning to invade us during the finals of the Chuunin exams!" Hayate said exasperatedly.

Sarutobi's eyes widened at this information, as he stood up from his desk. "Are you sure about this Hayate?!" He almost demanded.

Hayate tried to sound as calm as possible, but it was not working. "I'm positive, Hokage-sama! I overheard a secret conversation between Baki of the Sand Village and an unknown other! Although his voice bore a very strong resemblance to Yakushi Kabuto. I believe he may be a spy for Otogakure, maybe even working closely with Orochimaru! I was on my way back to inform you, when I was attacked by Baki. I fought against him, but he wounded me and escaped." He explained, sounding almost ashamed toward the end.

Sarutobi's eyes danced with fury at the information, but his face soon changed to a look of questioning. "I believe what you said is true Hayate, but the wound you have looks like it pierced your liver! You should have bled to death! How is it that you're still alive?" He questioned, genuine confusion in his tone.

Yet Hayate did not know how to answer that question properly. The Hokage would never believe him if he said that he suddenly came back to life and has now gained newfound ability from his apparent "death". So he needed to make something up fast.

"I…I was not injured as bad as I seem, Hokage-sama. I have learned how to heal slightly from some of the Medic nin in the village, and was able to heal myself enough to make the trip here." He quickly explained, hoping Sarutobi would believe his story.

Sarutobi thought the story was believable at first, but something in the back of his mind told him that Hayate was hiding something. But he had no time to ponder it now. There were more pressing matters.

"I see. You should go and visit the Medic nin now, and get yourself properly looked at, then go and get some rest. I will go to the ANBU HQ now and inform them of the situation. Thank you for alerting me to this, Hayate." Sarutobi said gratefully.

Hayate replied with a swift bow. "I am only doing my duty to Konoha, Hokage-sama. And I thank you for your concern, but this wound is no longer a threat to my life. I will have Yugao fix it for me." He replied, not wanting to go to the Medic nin until he could figure out more what exactly was happening to him.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure Hayate?" He asked, slightly angry that Hayate was disagreeing with him, but still worried about one of his ninja all the same.

Hayate nodded once. "Trust me Hokage-sama. I've been through worse than this. I will be fine. Thank you for your concern, it is greatly appreciated." He replied courteously before bowing again. Sarutobi nodded in reply.

"Very well. Get Yugao to heal you and get some rest. If what you heard is true, we are in for one hell of a day a month from now." Sarutobi said with a tone of finality, followed by concern for the last part.

Hayate nodded bowed once more, exiting the room and the tower swiftly, as Sarutobi left just as swiftly, headed for the ANBU HQ. As he walked, one more thought danced in his head.

"_Hayate, I know you're hiding something. In that entire meeting, you didn't cough once, nor did you look as pale as you normally do. I'm going to find out the truth sooner or later, and I trust you'll tell me when the time is right."_

In his rush to leave, he didn't yet notice the important notice in his pile of paperwork. The one regarding a situation in the Land of Waves. He would soon find out though.

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Baki could not believe his eyes. He had just seen something he never thought he would see. He had just observed Hayate leaving the Hokage Tower, and proceed to run and jump across rooftops swiftly, with no apparent use of chakra, and all the while denting the rooftops where he landed!

"_How the fuck is this possible?!"_ Baki mentally fumed. _"I stabbed him in the Liver! A well-known vital spot! He should have died from toxic shock, if the bleeding didn't kill him first! Yet he is alive!! This is bad…."_ He started to panic slightly. Hayate had lived through the fight, and he had now informed the Hokage of the imminent attack. Their plans would be in jeopardy now. Suna and Oto would need to attack with more force now if they were to be successful.

But at the current time, Baki's head was swimming with more than just the invasion. He had surely been found out! Hayate had surely reported that Baki was the one who attacked him! He started to ponder the possibilities.

"_What do I do now?! Do I play the innocent act, and say that Hayate was hearing things? That we respect the alliance with Konoha? Or do I leave now and inform the Kazekage that we have been compromised? Orochimaru would not be pleased that we have been found out, and I would be leaving Gaara and his siblings here. Orochimaru is a Sannin though..... He should be able to handle the invasion well no matter how prepared they are…. Right?" _

Baki's head was a maelstrom. He could not decide whether to stay and play innocent, since a lot of the invasion relied on he and Gaara's team being inside the village walls, or to return to Suna and request that they speed up the invasion before Konoha can prepare properly, thus still being successful with the invasion.

He stood up slowly, about to make his decision, when four ANBU appeared around him, the katana pressed to Baki's throat making his decision for him.

"Baki of Sunagakure." One of the ANBU spoke, male by voice and wearing a mask with an image of an Eagle's face, "You are under arrest. Come with us immediately. Any attempt made to escape will result in you being incapacitated." He finished in a firm tone. Baki growled in anger at being caught.

"_Mother of Fuck."_ Was Baki's only thought before chakra restraints were placed over his wrists, and he was escorted to the ANBU HQ.

Hayate dropped onto his bed, exhausted, having had a shower and now dressed in a pair of plain blue boxes, as his slightly wet silvery hair fell about his shoulders. He now had time to think about what happened to him, though he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"_This is crazy."_ He began in his mind. _"First, I am stabbed in a critical spot and bleed enough to kill me, yet I am alive."_ He looked down at his lower chest now, where the wound was completely healed, with no trace of it being there. He laid back and continued his mental analysis. _"Then I find myself unable to use my chakra for some unknown reason, yet some strange….. red and black crap is produced by my hands and feet, allowing me to cling to a wall, run up it, and not slip one tiny bit. Not to mention I now leave a dent when I land from a relatively high jump."_ For the umpteenth time that night, he found himself wondering:

"_What the hell is happening to me?"_

He rolled over on his bed, and tried his best to get to sleep, eventually drifting off after calming himself enough.

Little did he know, he had inherited something great.

Something powerful.

Something incredible.

Something dangerous and frightening.

He had become the thing that Alex Mercer once was.

He had become the next BlackLight Virus.

He had become the new Prototype.

And it would change his life, and Konoha, forever.

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**Well there you have it! Sorry it wasn't overly long, but my muse went frigid partway during that chapter. Don't worry, I double promise the action chapters will be worth it! You will get the gore and violence you seek, trust me!**

**Anywho, Please drop a review with anything you may wanna see happen, or ideas for Hayate's first consume, just so I get a good idea of what you guys wanna see! I'm makin this for you guys, and I want you all to enjoy it!**

**Peace out, and don't forget to review!**

**- Mr Skull**


	4. Consumed by Death

**Oh god. I can't begin to say sorry for this taking so long guys! I have so much going on right now. I have to do a year of study in half that time, and it's left me with not much other time on my hands!**

**But to those of you who have been patient, and itching to see some action, then wait no more! Behold, the 4th chapter of Mercer's Progeny!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or Prototype. Though I wish I had Mercer's powers.... -sigh-**

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**Chapter 4: Consumed by Death  
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The day had arrived.

It was the finals of the Chuunin Exams, and the tension in the air was so thick, you could poke it. **(A.N. Yeah, the whole "Cut it with a knife" thing is way overused and old, so I made up a new one. I think it's alright –pout-) **

Konoha had been under very strict laws since Hayate's disturbing revelation. The teams from Suna and Oto had been watched very carefully, but from a distance, to avoid suspicion. Jounin, ANBU and Tokubetsu Jounin had been called back from their missions within the week of the finals, and briefed on the situation. Sarutobi was on edge, not knowing just how Orochimaru might infiltrate Konoha, or even if he would.

"_No, if I know Orochimaru, he'll definitely try and battle me directly somehow." _Sarutobi mentally mulled. He knew how problematic it could be. Even being a Kage, his age had still taken its toll. If Orochimaru went all-out, there was no doubt Sarutobi could lose.

Baki's interrogation was a long and grueling process. In the end, it took the combined efforts of Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko AND Yamanaka Inoichi to get him to confess. He had spilled a great deal about the plan. The attack would occur when Uchiha Sasuke was due to fight Sabaku No Gaara. Five large Snake Summons would breach the outer walls at five evenly spread out places, after which Suna and Oto nin would spill through the broken areas, effectively swarming Konohagakure at various locations. The plan was cunning, and somewhat bullheaded, but effective none the less. Tensions were high indeed.

However, through all the tension of the Konoha nin, none was as high as Gekko Hayate's.

During the month leading up to the finals, Hayate had been training in secret, even going as far as to decline several missions assigned to him. In that time, he had learned the extend of his speed and strength, and some new handy abilities of this "Black Flesh" as Hayate affectionately referred to it as.

The Flesh was not only able to cling him to walls, but it would also cushion his fall from a great height, though he would still dent the ground considerably. He also discovered just how strong he had become due to the Flesh. He discovered both of these facts on a mission to stop a powerful bandit gang. Hayate had been hesitant to accept the mission at first, but he thought of it as a way to test the extent of his abilities, despite his doubts that it may actually hinder him.

Needless to say, he was awestruck when he punched one of the bandits only mildly, and while he blocked, the bandit's forearm bones cleanly snapped. Hayate could hear it. The bandit leapt back in a world of pain, his left arm from below the elbow down was useless. Hayate lunged at the bandit while he was stunned and delivered a powerful kick to the bandit's head, but only powerful enough to knock unconscious……

……yet it knocked the bandit's head off.

Hayate's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. First, one of his half strength punches had cleanly broken the bandit's arm, then one of his knock-out kicks had knocked the deviant's head off. He looked at himself in awe.

"_What in the nine levels of hell is happening to me…."_ Hayate pondered with a sense of fear. He went over what had happened to him in this past month.

He was injected with a large vial of black liquid that supposedly cured his condition.

He was stabbed in a vital spot, yet did not die. Or rather seemingly died but returned to life.

He could cling to walls, run incredibly fast, and land with the force of a cannonball, all without the use of chakra.

He could break opponents like they were cheap toys.

And he knew, in the back of his mind, that it wouldn't end there.

* * *

Hayate pushed the thought of that mission from his mind as he headed for the stadium alongside some of the other Jounin, Yugao included. He had done a good job of hiding what had been happening to him…. Or so he thought.

Yugao knew better.

She had been a Jounin for a long time, and Hayate's girlfriend even longer to know when something was troubling him. Yet every time she asked him, he would smile, say nothing was wrong, and kiss her gently. She always smiled, loving his gentle kisses, but she could feel the sense of turmoil running through Hayate's mind without any fancy Yamanaka-style jutsu.

She decided it was time to try again.

"Hayate-kun" Yugao spoke firmly, stopping both her and Hayate from walking. "We need to talk."

"Can't it wait, Yugao-chan? The Chuunin exam finals will be starting soon, and since we-" Hayate began, but was cut off when he noticed Yugao's expression.

Worry.

"Yugao-chan? What's the matter?" Hayate asked solemnly, placing a hand on her cheek, as she gazed into his eyes.

"Hayate-kun…… You trust me…. Don't you?" Yugao asked, almost with a sense of desperation. Hayate was a little taken back by the question.

"Of course I do….. Why would you think I don't?" Hayate replied reassuringly. But this only seemed to infuriate Yugao slightly.

"Then tell me….. are you hiding something from me?" She asked him firmly. Yugao was afraid she sounded a little too aggressive, but she wanted answers. Now. She had been screwed around by Hayate's evasive routine too long.

Hayate withdrew his hand slightly. "This again? Yugao-chan, how many times do I need to tell you that there is nothing wrong? I'm fine, trust me!" he replied with a small smile, leaning in for the usual kiss, but was shocked when Yugao backed away, looking stern.

She didn't say anything more, but the look on her face cleanly said "You're lying."

Hayate raised his hand again, as if to place it on her cheek once more. "Yugao-chan…."

"Hayate, listen to me." Yugao spoke in an assertive tone. "I've been a Jounin for almost 4 years now, but I've been your girlfriend for longer. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't realize when something was wrong with my own boyfriend? Something that, for one reason or another, he was keeping from me? Tell me that!" She spoke with mild anger, her voice rising toward the end. Hayate looked a little shocked, but sighed.

"I'm sorry Yugao….. But now would not be a good time to bring it up. What if I-"

"Now might be the ONLY time you can bring it up!!" Yugao half shouted, now allowing her fury to bubble slightly. What could be so important, so secret, so….. bad, that Hayate had to keep it from his girlfriend?!

Hayate raised his hands in a 'Calm Down' sort of way. "Yugao-chan, please! I promise I will explain when I can….. Really I do! But believe me when I say now would not be a good time..." Hayate spoke reassuringly at first, but afterwards sounding resigned. Yugao sighed also.

"…..All right, Hayate-kun." Yugao said calmly, her small smile returning to her pretty face, yet it was riddled with falsity. "We will survive this invasion first. But afterwards, I want an explanation. And it had better be a good one."

Hayate nodded slowly. "It's a promise, Yugao-chan." He said calmly. At least, as calmly as he could muster at the current time. The pair continued on to the stadium for the finals to begin.

* * *

The first match was interesting. Hayate almost fell asleep as the Hyuuga boy Neji drawled out his story about "Fate" and "Destiny" and "Being higher than Naruto". Hayate had never been a big believer in fate or destiny. He was mildly impressed when Naruto actually managed to defeat Neji using some rather unorthodox tricks, such as burying himself, and turning Neji's attacks against him.

The next fight was also interesting, yet he was surprised when Shikamaru withdrew from the round, complaining of supposed lack of chakra. Needless to say, Hayate was shocked when he heard that Shikamaru had the next 200 moves planned out in his head. He knew of the Nara IQ being incredibly high, but he'd never really seen much of the sort up close.

With no shock to any of the Konoha nin present, the puppet boy from Suna withdrew from his match with the Aburame kid. They knew it had to be part of the planned invasion.

Sasuke and his sensei Kakashi had arrived late for Sasuke's match with Gaara. Hayate was positive that Gaara was a large intended part for the invasion. The match was quite interesting. Sasuke had used recently trained speed and agility to get under Gaara's sand defense and actually land some powerful taijutsu strikes on him.

About twenty minutes into the match, several explosions were heard. The civilians were panicked, but after some reassurance from the Hokage, they calmed themselves. It was then revealed that the "Kazekage" was in fact Orochimaru. He and the Sandaime leapt to the rooftop of the main stadium building, and a large purple barrier was formed around them.

Hayate wasted no time.

He was to report to the eastern wall, where the fourth hole in the wall was formed. Yugao was stationed at the fifth hole. Hayate felt nervous for not being stationed at the same location as his love, but he silently swore to help her once he stopped the advance on the fourth hole.

He waited for a moment, until he was sure no one was watching, and began his mad, extra-speedy, crater-leaving dash toward the fourth breach. He was still amazed that he could move so fast. He couldn't anticipate that he was about to be amazed in another way. Maybe even horrified.

* * *

**THIRTY MINUTES LATER**

Hayate was swatting the Suna and Oto nin aside like they were flies, and was not even breaking a sweat.

He jumped to the side and delivered a powerful kick to an Oto nin's ribs, shattering them. He landed on his hands, flipped forward and sprang off all fours like a frog, spear tackling straight THROUGH a Suna nin.

Hayate stopped for a moment to realise what had just happened. He had tackled THROUGH a shinobi. Cutting them clean in half. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a Konoha nin shout "AAAAHHH!!! What the fuck IS that thing!?" Hayate ran toward the nin. "What's going on?!" He demanded. The terrified Konoha nin pointed at something outside the breach, and as Hayate looked toward it, he was also stricken with mild fear.

What they laid eyes on….. was horrifying. It looked like a mix between a skinned dog and a skinned ape. Its pink flesh and razor sharp claws glistened with freshly spilt blood. Upon closer inspection, this creature appeared to have no eyes. Yet its mouth was lined with razor-like teeth. It looked toward Hayate and the Konoha nin, and let loose with a screeching roar as it leapt through the air. Thanks to Hayate's enhanced reflexes, he was able to roll quickly out of the way. His comrade wasn't so lucky, as the creature sliced clean through him with its claws. "NO!!!" Hayate screamed in despair as his comrade was turned into mincemeat. The creature turned toward Hayate, and released the same screeching howl, seemingly staring at Hayate, and growling. Hayate's fear was suddenly replaced with a sense of anger at this creature for slaying his comrade. He stared angrily at the creature, getting into his fighting stance.

"You just made a fatal mistake, you ugly fucker." Hayate snarled at the creature before him. Said creature lunged at Hayate with surprising speed considering its size. Hayate managed to dodge again, and landing in a favorable way, he was able to spring at the creature, delivering a powerful punch to its face. The creature skidded along the ground slightly, screeching in pain, before turning to Hayate again.

Hayate glared at it. "CMON! COME GET ME!" he shouted angrily at the creature, as it lunged at him once more. Hayate dropped to the ground as the creature sailed over him, and, timing it just right, Hayate shot his legs upwards with a powerful double kick, planting his feet square in the creature's chest, sending it flying upward and backward, as it hit the ground with a dull slam. Hayate sprang to his feet and got into his stance again. The creature looked a little stunned and weakened now, but it still screeched and bounded toward Hayate once more. Hayate ran toward the creature, barely realising he was, as he slammed shoulders with it, entering into a deadlock. The creature pushed fiercely, but Hayate wouldn't concede. Hayate then had the idea to use the creature's force against it. Letting himself roll backwards, he threw the creature backwards, kicking it for extra leverage, as he flung the creature into a nearby wall. It hit the wall with a crashing and slight crunching sound.

The creature staggered to its feet, looking weak and dizzy now, also bleeding from some of Hayate's hits. Hayate sprinted toward the creature, planning to deliver a killing blow, as he leapt toward it, fist drawn back, and delivered it to the creature's face with a sickening CRUNCH. His fist shattered the skull of the creature, much to his amazement.

But it was what happened next that amazed him more.

As his fist connected, he felt three strange things grow from his back, and moments later, saw three… tentacle-tendril things zoom past him and embed into the creature. It took him a moment to realise they were the same black flesh that had been helping his speed and strength. The creature cried out in agony as the black flesh seemed to …._devour_ it slowly. As the creature became less, Hayate felt his lost energy returning, and his small wounds healing. Soon, he had "consumed" over half the creatures mass, and he was feeling a pulsing sensation in his arms.

He looked down at them, and saw the black flesh surrounding them, he groaned loudly in pain, before screaming as his arms began to feel like they were being ripped apart. After a moment or two, the pain stopped, and Hayate looked down at his arms, his heart skipping three beats at what he saw.

Claws.

Two-foot long claws.

Four of them on each…. Hand? Hayate looked at his arms, and they were now made from a solidified form of that same black flesh leading all the way up to his shoulders. The flesh manifested into something akin to hands where his hands should have been, and they made way for the fiendish looking claws replacing three of his fingers and both his thumbs.

Hayate could barely move for the next 5 minutes as he observed the claws. Trying to remain focused, he figured he should test them to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating. That fighting the creature hadn't somehow knocked him out. He saw a Suna nin off to the right, looking for his comrades. Hayate moved stealthily up on him, and without a word, drove his right claw into the nin's chest. The nin made only a gurgling sound as his body went limp. Hayate withdrew his claw, and the body fell to the ground.

Hayate then remembered the tendrils that had consumed the creature before, and wondered if they worked on human corpses. He also wondered why he was thinking like this, but figured it had something to do with this new….. virus, for lack of a better word.

He thought of the tendrils consuming the body of the Suna nin, and as he imagined it, one of them shot out from his back and into the body of the Suna nin. The black flesh swarmed the corpse and broke it down, seemingly absorbing it through the tendril, as Hayate was feeling regenerated like before. Not as much as before, but still quite a bit. Soon, there was no trace of the body ever being there, save for a little blood.

Hayate was beginning to like his newfound powers, when he heard a high pitched, all too familiar scream.

"YUGAO-CHAN!!!" Hayate screamed as he heard his love crying out. He went to run, but remembered his claws. He didn't want to freak out Yugao by running toward her looking like this. He tried the same trick with the tendrils, imagining his arms returning to normal. And with a slight whirring-slush, and some black flesh movement, his arms were normal again, no evidence of the claws ever being there, clothes still perfectly intact and all. He was impressed to say the least, but knew he didn't have time to think on it.

He dashed toward the fifth breach area as fast as he could.

* * *

Hayate was horrified at what he saw. Bodies. Bodies everywhere sporting the same slash marks as given by the strange creatures he'd fought only moments earlier. Several bodies of said creatures were littering the ground among the fallen shinobi from all three currently at war countries. Hayate could care less about the bodies right now, he looked around frantically for the origin of his loved one's scream.

"Yugao-chan?!" He called out in panic, fearing the worst for just a moment.

"Hayate-kun!" came a weak, yet panicked reply a bit to his right. Hayate turned and was greeted with the blood-icening sight of Yugao, severely wounded around her midsection and arms, and even a gash across her face. Hayate was about to run over to her when he heard that all too familiar screech some distance behind her. He watched in horror as another of those creatures smashed through some nearby rubble, sporting several injuries of its own, but seemingly unaffected by them. Hayate ran toward Yugao, determined to get there first.

"Yugao-chan!!! LOOK OUT!!!" He screamed at her. She was barely able to react in time as she jumped to the right. The creature couldn't react in time as Hayate shoulder barged it, and to his amazement, managed to lift it off the ground. He used his momentum to roll forward with his grip on the stunned creature and flung it toward a nearby stone wall. The creature hit the wall with a loud SMASH, a screech of pain and the sound of concrete crumbling. Hayate turned to his love.

"Yugao-chan! You need to get out of here! Get to a medic nin as fast as you can so he can treat those wounds!" He commanded, his voice written with worry.

Yugao looked pensive for a second. "But Hayate! What about the creature?!" She said, also with worry. Said creature was growling as it tried to regain its bearings after being thrown into a wall.

Hayate shook his head. "Don't worry about me! I can handle this thing! Pleaase, you need to get to a medic!" He said with a tone of finality, the worry never leaving his voice.

Yugao nodded slowly, and blew him a gentle kiss, which he caught and held to his heart, as Yugao used some of her remaining chakra to begin her leap across the buildings toward the sactioned medical point.

Hayate, now free of any observers, turned to the creature, who was now on its feet, and leering (or at least Hayate thought it was) dangerously at Hayate. Hayate let a smirk cross his face. "Time to die, ugly." He said with confidence as he raised his arms to the side, the black flesh swirling around them again, and within a second, his arms had become the lethal claws that they were only minutes ago. Hayate stood in a way that said "Come and get me." As the creature charged at him. Hayate dodged to the side as the creature swiped at him. "My turn!" he shouted as he swiped back, slicing three nasty gashes in the creature's front right arm, the same one it had just used to swipe at Hayate. The creature shrieked in pain as it landed, right arm now off the ground slightly due to pain. The three gashes were nice and deep, as they were now flowing with dark red blood. The creature screeched again and charged at Hayate, who nimbly leapt over the creature and drove his claws into its lower back, causing it to shriek out in pain once again, now bleeding more. Yet the creature still looked able to fight, as it turned around and growled at Hayate, who leered at the creature, promising a slow and painful death by tendril consuming, as punishment for harming his girlfriend. The creature charged Hayate once again, still determined to eviscerate him. Yet Hayate was too fast; he dashed forward and rammed his right claw into the creature's solar plexus, causing it to shriek even louder this time as blood poured out from the wound, and ran down Hayate's transformed arm.

Hayate immediately drew upon the thought of the tendrils devouring this thing quite painfully, and as he predicted, four tendrils lashed out and embedded into the creature's skin. Said creature shrieked loudly as the tendrils slowly and punishingly consumed it, and Hayate felt that last little bit of strength returning to him as the creature became no more.

Moments later, there wasn't even a body left. Hayate returned his arms to normal and looked over the bodies once more.

This day had truly been terrible. Many good Konoha shinobi were lost, and the peaceful village now lay almost in ruins. Hayate shed a silent tear for the events of the day before setting off to the medical point to check up on his girlfriend.

* * *

Hayate was standing in the hospital beside Yugao's bed, as she lay in a drug induced coma for the pain she was in. Hayate had gone to the medical point, only to find Yugao had been taken immediately to the hospital, due to severe internal bleeding, and several points of severe blunt force trauma. Hayate didn't even wait for his own checkup as he rushed for the hospital. Before Hayate made it to the hospital, he picked up a stray kunai and slashed himself a couple of times. Not much, but enough to make it look like he'd been in a battle. He was relieved when the wounds didn't close as he didn't will them to. He really didn't want unneccessary attention right now. Not with the….. "changes" he'd been experiencing.

Hayate stood silently as he watched his girlfriend lay in a coma before him. Wounded by a country of misfits and traitors, allied with those who were meant to be KONOHA'S allies.

At that moment, Hayate thought to himself:

"I don't know what those things were, but I'm gonna find out. And I'm gonna find out why all this happened."

"I'll hunt them all down."

"And I'll make them pay."

* * *

**Whew! Chapter 4 done! I tried to make it longer, really I did. I wanted to make it epic like Dirty Reid's stories! Though I dunno if I succeeded.....**

**I'll let you guys be the judge of that. If you think it's too short, hopefully the content makes up for it!**

**As for the coming chapters, I'm still open to suggestions as to which powers he should gain next.**

**Until next time, Thank ye for reading! I promise I will try and get chapter 5 out quicker!  
**


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